English
Date – 11th Jan 2024
Speaker - HH Bhakti Rasamrita Swami Maharaj
Theme – Importance of counting while chanting
As per the orders of H.H. Lokanath Swami Maharaj, today I have got an opportunity to speak on Harinama. This is a great fortune for me. Lokanath Maharajji has started this online program in which almost thousand devotees are joining or have joined. This is a very praiseworthy program. Devotees from different places get the opportunity to meet at one platform, to hear about chanting and to chant with Maharaj and other devotees.
Today I want to discuss on the topic, when we daily chant Harinam, why do we count it and can we chant even without counting? It is said in the scriptures that we should constantly chant the name of the Lord.
satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyan taś ca māṁ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate
Translation:- Always chanting My glories, endeavouring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion. [BG 9.14]
Lord said in the ninth chapter of Bhagavad Gita that we should constantly chant the name of Lord. Along with that, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has also said in Shiksastakam that we should always chant, kirtaniya sada harih. So, there is no doubt that we should constantly chant the name of the Lord. Sometimes we can chant loudly, sometimes we can chant silently and we can even chant in mind. There are different names for this, but we will not discuss it today in depth. So, constant chanting of the Lord’s name is the goal, an ultimate best for all of us. 24 hours, Lord's name should be in our mind and on our tongue.
Sub-theme: Conversation between Gopal Guru Goswami and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Name of the Lord should be taken every time. You all must have heard the story of Gopal Guru Goswami. Yet, I will tell you briefly. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was going for His daily routine, there was a boy who was a child of a devotee. His name was Gopal. So once Gopal saw that a Vaishnav was going somewhere holding his tongue with his hand. So he asked to this Vaishnava, ‘where are you going? Why are you holding your tongue like this?’ So the Vaishnav said, ‘I am going for defecation. Because defecation is an impure act and toilet is also an impure place, so I thought I should hold my tongue; because Lord's name constantly comes out of my mouth and Lord's name should not be taken in an impure place. So, child Gopal preached to that Vaishnav and said, ‘How can this be? When you are chanting the Lord's name, Lord's name is completely pure, Lord's name has the potency to purify every situation, every place and every person. There is no proper or improper place to take the Lord’s name and think further, what will happen if death occurs in the toilet? At the end of life, one must take the name of the Lord, hence if we take the name of the Lord even in the toilet there is no problem, on the contrary, this is very necessary thing.’
Sub- theme: Various reasons for counting the chants
So, in other words, constant chanting of the Lord’s name is our goal, an ultimate best for us. Yet it is said that we should chant the name considering the number. Chanting must be counted. Why such instruction is given? Srila Prabhupada also used to chant on the beads. He also gave instruction that we should chant on beads. And even at the time of initiation, we take a vow that we will chant at least 16 rounds. So, why such rule of chanting is given? Whereas in the scriptures it is mentioned that, 24 hours we should chant the name of the Lord, then why is it so? There could be many reasons. We have taken a vow at the time of initiation or even though we are not initiated, we take a vow, sankalpa that daily we should chant minimum this number of rounds. So when we have taken a vow, we must follow it. How can we know if we are following it or not? If we take a vow like, daily we should chant at least 16 rounds, then how can we understand that we are following the vow or not. Hence counting is very important.
Even though Lord and scriptures instruct us to chant continuously, can we really chant continuously for 24 hours? Are we at that level? Do we have that capability to chant Lord’s name for 24 hours daily? Sometimes we chant Lord’s name, sometimes we forget to chant, sometimes our mind wanders here and there, and since it is not possible for us to chant for 24 hours, we are not at that level. We take a vow, that I should chant at least this number of rounds and then yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ, by taking strict vows we follow the instructions. So this is important thing. And it is not that because we have come a long way, so many years we have completed, now even if we not chant properly, even if we do not follow the rules of the vow, then also it is fine, even if we will not count our rounds, then also it is fine, No. It is not so. Even Haridas Thakur used to chant on beads. And Sad-Goswamis also used to chant on beads, sankhyä-pürvaka-näma-gäna-natibhih. Like this it is given in Sad-Goswami Astakam-
sankhyä-pürvaka-näma-gäna-natibhih kälävasäni-krtau
nidrähära-vihärakädi-vijitau cätyanta-dinau ca yau
rädhä-krsna-guna-smrter madhurimänandena sammohitau
vande rüpa-sanätanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopälakau
Translation: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvämis, namely Sri Rüpa Gosvämi, Sri Sanätana Gosvämi, Sri Raghunätha Bhatta Gosvämi, Sri Raghunätha däsa Gosvämi, Sri Jiva Gosvämi, and Sri Gopäla Bhatta Gosvämi, who were engaged in chanting the holy names of the Lord and bowing down in a scheduled measurement. In this way they utilized their valuable lives and in executing these devotional activities they conquered over eating and sleeping and were always meek and humble enchanted by remembering the transcendental qualities of the Lord. [Sad-Goswami Astakam- 6]
Even Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to count the number of rounds He chanted. In the first canto of the Stava Mala, Sri Rupa Goswami says
Hare krsnety-uccaih sphurita-rasano nāma-gananā-
krta-granthi-śreņi-subhaga-kati-sūtrojjvala-karah
Translation:- Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu chants the Hare Krsna mahä-mantra in a loud voice. The holy name dances on His tongue as He counts the number of recitations with His effulgent hand. [Prathama Sri Chaitanyashtakam (stavamala) - Srila Rupa Goswami]
Meaning of this is, it is easy to count on the knots of thread sūtrojjvala, just like we chant on beads, but Rupa Goswami says, when Mahaprabhu used to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, in a loud voice, uccaih sphurita, rasano nāma-gananā , while relishing it, He used to count the names. krta-granthi-śreņi-subhaga-kati-sūtrojjvala-karah, so, He used to chant while holding in His fingers that sutra, the thread. And holding one knot, as their were knots on that thread, Mahaprabhu used to chant Mahamantra on one knot and then move to another knot and chant another Mahamantra, like that. So, even Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to count His rounds. That doesn’t mean that He was not counting without the beads, or that sutra, thread. He used to count even without it, but the point is, even if we are neophyte devotees or we are very advanced devotees, we should make a practice of counting, should do sadhana and when we will attain the perfect stage of the sadhana, that is sadhya, then also we count. First thing is it is for our own good and second is to set an example for others.
So, when we observe a vow, or even if we do not observe such vow, that I will chant at least this many rounds, then in the absence of such vow, there is every possibility that our sadhana may become weak. This should not happen that, ‘milk is turned into water’, (reduction in quality), but when we set a goal like we will chant at least 16 rounds daily, then there is an inspiration for us, a goal that we have to achieve, then the discipline comes in our life and we become more responsible. Our mind gets focused and we develop nistha, full faith in our spiritual life. That is why we observe such vows, in which we take sankalpa that at least this many rounds I will chant. It is very beneficial for us.
Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur has also said that until we develop natural love or attachment or attraction for Harinama, until then we should chant the Holy Name very carefully, putting lot of efforts.
ye paryanta anuraga na haya udaya
se paryanta yatna kari nama sada laya
Translation: As long as one does not have such enthusiasm, one should take care to constantly chant the Holy name with attention. [Harinama Chintamani Chapter 12]
Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur says As long as one does not have such enthusiasm, se paryanta yatna kari nama sada laya, one should take care to constantly chant the Holy name with attention. One must put lot of efforts; one must follow the vow and count the chanted mantras.
In his ‘Jaiva Dharma’ Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur says, one of the reasons of counting the chanting of Harinam is we can understand whether our chanting is increasing or not. In other words we can understand how our Japa, chanting is going on, the number is increasing or reducing and the quality is also increasing or not. Whether we chant on mala or on our fingers; sometimes Mahaprabhu used to chant on fingers. So whether we are chanting on beads or on fingers, sometimes our devotees chant on one instrument, on the counter. No matter which instrument we use, but we must chant constantly. One more reason for chanting on beads is our attention gets easily focused on Harinama. When we chant without anuraga, attachment then our mind easily gets distracted. Sometimes we fell asleep, sometimes our attention wanders, but when we chant on beads, that time also our mind may wander, we may sleep, yet our sense of touch remains active and when we touch the beads, we come to know that the mala is not moving. Our finger is stuck on one bead. And by using the sense of touch we can understand that the mind is wandering here and there or not. At least after some time we come to know.
And our beads are made of Tulasi. So the touch of Tulasi is very important for us. Our mind gets purified by the touch of Tulasi beads and along with that we also get the blessings of Tulasi Maharani. We all know that Tulasi Maharani is very dear to Lord Sri Krishna, and that is why we worship Tulasi Maharani every morning and evening. We sit near Tulasi Maharani to chant because it is very beneficial to chant in the presence of Tulasi Maharani. So, to progress on the path of devotion, it is very important that we receive the blessings of Tulasi Maharani. When we sit in the presence of Tulasi, chant on Tulasi beads, then we get the mercy of Tulasi Maharani, and with that we get the mercy of Sri Krishna and Harinam Prabhu. So it is very important to count in this way and especially on the Tulasi beads.
Sub-theme: when we should not chant on beads?
Now there are some circumstances when we should not chant on the Tulasi beads. It is possible that for some material or spiritual reason it is not appropriate to do it. I will give some examples. I have seen many times that when the devotees are driving, they keep their beads with them. So, I feel, while driving one should drive carefully, otherwise accident may happen. And if at that time we are chanting on beads, we neither can chant properly nor can drive properly. Therefore when we are driving, definitely we can pray and take Lord’s name, we may do kirtan, but we must concentrate on driving and it is good to not use beads at that time.
Similarly some of our devotees who have business or do jobs, for them it is not possible to chant Harinam while sitting in the office. Or even for some spiritual reason if we are going to meet some important person, like President or the Prime Minister, and when we are talking with them and at the same time we have bead bag in hand and we are chanting while talking with them, and are not paying attention to them, then that person will not feel good. Anyways for material or spiritual reasons, there are many such situations where we should not chant on the beads. But it does not mean that we should not chant the Mahamantra, but it is good not to use beads at that time.
Similarly I have also seen that during Srimad Bhagavatam class, some devotees chant while sitting in the class. This is also not good, because when we are listening Srimad Bhagavatam class, our full focus should be on Bhagavatam. If at that time we are sitting with mala, we are neither listening to Bhagavatam class properly nor chanting Harinam properly. So, in Bhagavatam class while listening the class, if Holy name is going on in our mind then it is a good thing, but if we will sit there while chanting on beads, then it will not be a good example for other devotees. Then everyone will think that this is the rule for us. Then everyone will start chanting on Tulasi mala during Bhagavatam class.
If we are doing any other work in which we need to focus carefully, then it is better to not take mala in hand, but gradually we should train ourselves, practice chanting on mala in such a way that we will be able to chant nicely even without mala. This is a very important thing. We should prepare for that, satatam kirtayanto mäm and
trnäd api sunicena taror iva sahisnunä
amäninä mänadena kirtaniya sadä harih
“One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind, one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.” [Sri Sri Sikasastakam 3]
And for that, beads are very important and we must use beads throughout our life. But it is not possible to hold the beads in every situation; therefore we should train our mind that we should be able to chant even without the beads. We should practice for this.
Sub-theme: How to be Krsna conscious the whole day?
So, many times, devotees ask, how can we be Krishna conscious when we are in the office? The simple answer to this is if you are Krishna conscious when you are not in the office, then even in the office you can be Krishna conscious. And if we have not practiced being Krishna conscious when we are not in the office, then it will be difficult for us to be Krishna conscious when we are in the office. In the same way, when we chant nicely, minimum 16 rounds, at least two hours or we may need quarter to two hours, someone needs more time, someone needs less. So, we chant nicely at that time, and then all of us have experience, that our day becomes a good day. Our other work gets done in a good way, the problems also get minimised. Even if there are problems then we get solutions easily. So all of us have this experience that if these two or quarter to two hours of our day goes nicely then the remaining twenty two hours also pass very nicely. But we need to understand one more thing, what we do for these remaining twenty two hours of our day? What is our lifestyle? How we spend our time? This also has a deep impact on our two hours of chanting. If we do not spend the remaining twenty two hours properly in Krishna consciousness and do various other things and when after that we sit to do our chanting, we could not concentrate on our chanting. So, just as the effect of two hours’ chanting is on the remaining twenty two hours, in the same way, the effect of twenty two hours will be on our two hours of chanting. There is very deep connection between these two. Therefore having goal of chanting constantly, we must practice to chant more and more rounds on beads, at least as much we have taken vow, the sankalpa. And if possible we must chant more than that. And only when it is not possible to chant on beads then chanting in mind, manasika japa, or chanting in very low sound, should also be practiced.
Sri Harinam Prabhu Ki Jai!
Hare Krishna Mahamantra ki Jai!
Gaur Premanande Hari Hari Bol!
Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai!!!
